Daisy Troop 14142 took a tour of Len Busch Roses in Plymouth, Minnesota to learn how daisies are grown. Len Busch is the largest flower producer in the Midwest.
Girl Scout trip to Yellowstone December 22, 2009
Troop 22213 spent the last week of July enjoying Yellowstone National Park. The vacation started early on Sunday morning. The girls were excited and settled into the 12-passenger van that would become their “home” for the next 23 hours. As we were leaving town, we decided to take a detour and see Mount Rushmore. It added on some time to the trip, but it was worth it. The girls enjoyed being able to see this national monument, and it was amazing seeing something that we had only seen in pictures. After the stop, we continued on our way to West Yellowstone. We arrived at 3 a.m. The girls were sent right to bed for a few hours of sleep before our activities really began.
The first day, we went to Fountain Paint Pots and Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park. The girls learned that you cannot rush mother nature!
Day two brought us to a ranch where they taught us how to Fly Fish. It was a great experience. We then had supper with a Girl Scout Junior troop from West Yellowstone. They brought their flags, and we had a flag ceremony. After supper we went to the local Smokejumper base and learned all about smokejumping. It was a lot of fun.
Day three was exhausting but fun. The morning started with a nine-mile horseback ride that lasted two hours. One of our guides’ grandparents were from Faribault! After our ride, we enjoyed a great lunch of buffalo burgers and brats. The girls even had some time to rock climb.
Then the adventure began. We went white water rafting. It was the most fun experience we had. We all slept great that night!
Our last day, we spent at the Canyon in Yellowstone. We had “hobo lunches” that we made over a fire, and then we went on a ranger hike to look at the falls. They were wonderful. While in Yellowstone, we completed the Jr Ranger badge and learned a lot along the way! There was a little time found to do some shopping as well.
The next morning was early as we loaded up and got ready to call the van our “home” again. This time the trip only took us about 18 hours. All in all, we had a great time. The girls were wonderful, and we could not have asked for a better trip!
- Robin, troop leader
Our Girl Scout trip to Savannah August 25, 2009
June 28, 2009. It’s 5 a.m. as our sleepy mother-daughter troop from Prior Lake and Savage – Jill and Jamie Stang, Margaret and Stacey LaFrance, and Monique and Lauren Rupp – heads off to the airport, anxiously awaiting our arrival in Atlanta, Georgia. As our plane touches down and we begin our road trip to Savannah, we first make a quick stop at the World of Coke museum in downtown Atlanta, where we experienced some good and some not-so-good Coke products from around the world.
We head off again and drive four hours until finally reaching our destination at the Mulberry Inn in Historic Savannah. What was once a cotton factory, and later became the first ever Coca-Cola bottling factory, had now become our hotel for our week in historic Savannah.
Our first day in Savannah was spent touring the historic city with the Old Savannah Trolley Tours. That same night, we were scared out of our wits while touring the Weed Sorrell Mansion, one of the top ten most haunted houses in the U.S. We awoke the second day to the history and flag semi-fore of Old Fort Jackson. There we were able to watch a real firing of a cannon, and we took a tour of the civil war barracks inside the fort’s walls. We spent the remainder of the day on a dolphin tour out on Tybee Island, where we learned about Atlantic bottle nose dolphins and their habitat. Wednesday morning we drove back out to Tybee Island to climb 178 steps to the top of the lighthouse on the Island. After climbing back down, we toured the house of the lighthouse keeper, where we found a picture of Dan Patch hanging on the wall above the mantel. We all thought this was amazing because our hometown of Savage is named after Dan Patch’s owner M.W. Savage, and Dan Patch and his owner were from Savage.
We also took part in a marine beach walk that afternoon, where we learned about the Georgia salt marshes, the marine life that lived there, and how to protect it. We ended that perfect day with a swim in the Atlantic Ocean and a fabulous lunch at a pink restaurant on the beach called Fannies.
Our last day in Savannah was spent at the Juliette Gordon Low house! We started our day by doing an interest session called Fabrics, Fashions, and Frills. During this session we were fortunate enough to learn everything from the proper way to wear a corset, to how to attach a bustle enhancer to get the true bustle look of the 1880s. Then we took a tour of Juliette Gordon Low’s birthplace. We ended our day with a true Victorian dinner, where we dressed up in dresses of Juliette’s day, and even ate off of replicas of the china she had painted!
It was amazing just seeing in that one day how one woman was able to make such a difference in the world with one idea. Juliette Gordon Low has done some awe-inspiring things for girls that people will remember forever.
The next day we woke up bright and early, to make a long road trip so we could arrive in Atlanta in time to catch our flight back home.
All in all, we learned bits and pieces of everything, all the way from how to wave a civil war flag to how to wear the best fashions of the 1880s, proper dinner manners for a dinner party, and about the founder of Girl Scouting in America. We had been saving up our Girl Scout cookie money for years to fund this trip, and after it was over, we can definitely say that it was worth every penny.
Girl Scouts at the farm August 3, 2009
Rochester Troop 43088 took a trip to Featherstone Farms in Rushford, Minn. The girls learned about Community Supported Agriculture, tasted lettuce straight from the ground, and planted daisies in the employee picnic area.
Girl Scouts at Niabi Zoo May 28, 2009
More than 40 River Valleys Girl Scouts traveled to the Niabi Zoo this month as part of the 1,000+ Club event where the girls had the opportunity to have breakfast with the elephants. The elephants even created two works of art for especially for the girls. Congratulations to all girls who made it into the 1,000+ Club in 2009 and get ready for another exciting 1,000+ Club event in 2010!
Our 2009 Cookie Program Activity celebrations will wrap up with the 500+ Club Events on June 20 at Camp Singing Hills and June 27 at Camp Elk River where over 400 River Valleys Girl Scouts have been invited to enjoy a day of adventure at camp. Look for photos from those events coming soon!
UPDATE: We added new pictures to our Facebook page–check it out!
Girl Scouts go Geochaching April 21, 2009
Girl Scout Troop 40044 went geocaching on Saturday, April 11. We found seven geocaches.
Geocaching is modern-day treasure hunting. Geocaching websites list caches, their latitudes and longitudes, and hints to the location of a cache. A cache is some sort of waterproof container, hidden in an outdoor location, on public land. Over 30 caches are hidden in and around Austin, Minn., with thousands more throughout the state.
All you need for geocaching is a hand-held GPS, Internet access, and a desire to look around outdoors. The GPS gets you within 20-30 feet of the cache. The clues and your ability to find things do the rest.
For more great pictures of Troop 40044′s geocaching adventure, view the photo album on River Valleys’ Facebook fan page.
Girl Scouts visit Raptor Center March 19, 2009
In February, Juniors Troop 52763 from Oneka Elementary School visited the Raptor Center on the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine on the St. Paul campus. The Raptor Center put on a great program for the girls; they learned about several types of birds, their habitats, and what the Raptor Center does for injured birds.
The girls got to see Red-tailed Hawks, Bald Eagles, a Turkey Vulture, American Kestrels, Owls, and a Peregrine Falcon. They also learned about what classifies a bird as a raptor, the differences between the bird types, and what and how they find their food. Most importantly, the girls learned why the birds were at the Raptor Center. There are about 800 birds brought to the Raptor Center each year due to injuries, lead poisoning, and human imprinting. The girls learned that it is very important to notify the Raptor Center or another local animal organization when encountering an injured or abandoned bird so that it can get the care that it needs and a has chance of being rehabilitated and released back into the wild. The Raptor Center releases birds back into the wild all year long and twice a year they do public releases at Hyland Park Reserve.
For a great educational wildlife and environmental experience, the girls of Troop 52763 encourage all troops to take a visit to the Raptor Center. For more information on the Raptor Center, visit their website at www.raptor.cvm.umn.edu.
Picture #1- Our Troop at the Raptor Center:
Back row (L-R): Paige, Tess, Kasey, Katie, Eden, Jenna, and Annie. Front row (L-R): Julia, Ashley, and Ariana.
Picture #2- The girls listen to a Raptor Center volunteer talk outside of the Bald Eagle habitat display.
Picture #3- A Raptor Center volunteer talks about the Red-tailed Hawk.
Troop 13433 on Humane Society Tour! March 16, 2009
Girl Scout Troop 13433 and family members visited the Golden Valley Humane Society for a behind the scenes tour in February 2009. It was very informative and interesting, and we got to see the animals! The girls really enjoyed this low cost activity!
Pictured: Izzy, Anna, Paula, Bailey, Matigann, Analise, Kaeley and Ellie.
Troop Camping November 14, 2008
For the last four years I have taken a troop of girls to summer camp. The first two years we went to Camp Lakamaga. Then we were ready for a little more adventure, so last summer and this summer we headed to Camp Northwoods for five days and four nights. .
Camp Northwoods is about a three- to four-hour drive from the Twin Cities, but well worth the extra gas and time.
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Taking a troop to summer camp is very easy to do. We pick the days we want to go, decide if we want to stay in the troop house, cabins, or tents (we always stay in the tents), and select our activities. We tell the camp staff what we want to do each day, and the camp will provide the staff needed.
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We decide what meals we want to eat in the lodge and what meals we want to make in our unit. (We usually do about half in the lodge and half in the unit. We always have breakfast in our unit since it is an easy meal to do and usually allows us to have a more relaxed morning. And we have supper in the lodge when we are tired at the end of the day.)
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Going to camp as a troop is quite economical. The planning is very minimal. (We usually work on one or two badges and bring a craft to do in our unit.) The camp staff are so welcoming and helpful. Anytime we need anything, they are always willing to go the extra mile to make sure we get what we need.
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I would highly recommend any troop leader to take their girls to Girl Scout camp. Your troop gets to enjoy a summer camp experience, and you get wonderful help from the camp staff. Our troop was already planning our return trip to Northwoods next summer on our drive home last summer. Their request: more horseback riding!
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Kathryn Hagedorn
Troop 50811
Northern Lights Service Unit
